A Fresh Start
Chapter One Hundred Fifty Four
Richard is in his study when Cassie got home. Putting everything on the counter she walks to the back of the house. "When did you get home?" She asks, walking into his office.
"A few minutes ago, where did you go?"
"Well, I was at the Beacon for a short while and then Reva pulled up when I came home and she took me over to her house for a wedding shower/bachelorette party with Sam, Harley and her."
"What did you get?" Richard asks.
"Just some stuff for us to use."
"You're not going to tell me, are you?"
"No, you'll find out soon enough. Is everything settled at City hall?"
"Yes, Amelia has all of her instructions, all of my paperwork and meetings have been taken care of, so I'm completely yours for the next two weeks." Richard says, getting and walking around his desk.
"When is William getting here?"
"He'll be later this evening." Richard says, drawing her out of the room.
"I wanted to ask you something?" Cassie says, following him.
"Okay."
"It's about Blue, when do you want to tell RJ about him?"
"Umm, I thought we would tell him before tomorrow so I guess it will have to be sometime tonight." Richard says, walking towards the stairs.
"Where are you going?"
"Upstairs."
"Why?" Cassie asks, following him.
"Because I thought maybe you would show me what you got at Reva's."
"It's not upstairs. I left it in the kitchen." Cassie says, stopping halfway up the stairs.
"You left it in the kitchen."
"Yes, I'll go get it, go on upstairs." Cassie says. She turns to go back downstairs as Richard continues upstairs. A few moments later, she walks into the bedroom. Richard is lying on the bed when she walks in.
Sitting up, he asks. "So, what did you get?"
She walks over to the bed and sits down beside him. "Okay, this was from Reva?" Cassie says, handing him a piece of paper.
He opens it up and reads what Reva had written on it. "Love." He asks, looking at her.
"Reva said that she spent some time thinking about what has kept her and Josh together after all these years and that's what she's come up with."
"Okay, so what did Harley and Sam get for you?"
"Well, some of what Harley got, you're not going to see until tomorrow night. But she did pick up these." Cassie says, pulling out the bottle of herbal pills.
"Oh no, you're not taking those with you." Richard says, taking the bottle away from her.
As Cassie laughs, "Reva said the same thing. I had to beg her to let me have them when I left."
"Yeah, because you almost didn't make our first wedding because of those pills, why would Harley get those?" Richard asks.
"I think so Blake could be part of the wedding like she was before, since she can't be her in person."
"I'm sorry." Richard says, reaching out to caress her cheek. She turns her head and kisses his palm. A fissure of desire rolls down Richard's spine as he asks. "I'm assuming that Sam got you the basket."
"Yes, she even included stuff for you since she didn't think you would want to go around smelling like flowers." Cassie says, pulling out the stuff that Sam got for him. "It all smells like sandalwood and masculine scents."
"You know, my back has been sore today." Richard says, seeing the massaging oil.
"It has, what did you do?"
"I may have slept wrong last night."
"Do you want some of your pills?" Cassie asks, reaching for his night stand.
"No, I've got another way you can help, could your rub my back?" He asks, looking at the oil beside them.
She looks at him and then at the oil and then back at him, quickly realizing what he wants. "Is your back even hurting?"
"Maybe a little bit." He says with a smile, realizing that she knows what he's up to. He leans in to kiss her. She moves closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. When he starts to lie back, she pulls away. "No." He whispers, tightening his arms around her.
"The staff from the Beacon will be by to get things ready for tomorrow."
"They've already been here." He says, lying back and refusing to release her.
"They were here, when?" She asks, leaning back and looking at him.
"Just after I came home from City hall, you didn't see them when you pulled up?"
"No, there was no one at the barn when I pulled up." Cassie says, watching him and feeling herself relax from the heat coming from him.
"I guess they left." Richard says, watching her. "So, can I have my massage?"
"I shouldn't." Cassie says, pulling away from him.
"But you're not going to make me suffer are you?" He asks, trying to look pitiful.
She laughs. "I should." She says, sitting up while he watches her.
She gets off the bed. Reaching for the buttons on her blouse she begins to unbutton them as he sits up to watch her. When she has it unbuttoned, she shrugs it off her shoulders before she reaches around for the button on her skirt, unbuttoning it before she pushes it down over her hips. Slipping her sandals off, she comes back to the bed while he watches her.
He leans towards her, reaching for her hand. "You know, you are beautiful. I'm the luckiest man in the world."
"I think we're both lucky, but are you going to stay like that? I mean I thought you wanted a massage."
"I want a lot of things but right now, I want to look at you." He says, slowly looking down her body.
"I thought you're back was hurting."
"It is, but right now that's not what's on my mind." He replies, reaching up and laying his hand against her neck. "And judging from what I'm feeling right now, I don't think you are either."
"My job is to take care of you, so right now. You need a massage and if you want that massage, you've got to at least take the sure off unless you want me to do it through you t-shirt." She says, looking up at him.
"Alright." He says, releasing her and slipping off the bed. "How do you want me?" He asks, turning to her.
"This was your idea."
"It was, but I'll follow your lead." He says, pulling his t-shirt off and then reaching to unbutton his jeans. Pushing them down over his hips and down his legs, he steps out of them. He walks over to the bed. Sitting down on the bed, he turns towards her. "Now what do you want me to do?"
"If you want me to massage your back, you'll need to lie down on your stomach." She says, moving back so he can lie down.
He lies down. Laying his head on his arms, he turns his head towards her. "So, which oil are you going to use?"
"Which one do you want me to use?"
"You mean I have a choice."
"Umm yes, I've got sandalwood, patchouli, or the Hershey's chocolate syrup."
"Hershey's chocolate syrup… is that really one of the massage oils." He asks, halfway sitting up and turning to her.
"It's not one of the massage oil, but it's and option." She says, holding up the bottle. "According to Sam, it's quite fun."
"Umm, that's a hard choice, but for right now and since the boys will be home later this afternoon, it might be better not to get too dirtied up." Richard says, lying back down.
"Alright, sandalwood, it is."
"Do you want that one because it smells like the wild, wild west and…?"
"I like this one because it smells masculine and strong, sort of like a… well maybe you're right, and it does remind me of a cowboy. The Patchouli reminds me of black licorice."
"The sandalwood is fine." He says, settling into the bed.
Taking the bottle out of the basket, she opens the bottle and then poured some into her hands. Rubbing them together, she lays her hands on his back, slowly working her hand over the muscles of his shoulders and neck, before she moves to his lower shoulders. She feels the muscles beginning to relax. Moving down to his middle back, she continues to work. Closing his eyes, he turns his head to his right side while letting his body relax as she works. "I don't think you were hurting as bad as you seemed to pretend to be." Cassie says, leaning over to kiss the side of his neck before she sits up.
"There might be a few other things that are hurting more than my back." Richard replies softly.
"Like what, Mr. Winslow. I believe I took care of all of your aches this morning."
"Well that particular session invoked another problem."
"It did, how?" She asks, moving down to his lower back.
"Well, it's like this. That particular session was so satisfying that I kept thinking about it. And thinking about it made me want some more." Richard says, moving to turn over.
"You want more."
"Yes, I want more. And then you came home with all of this stuff, well it gave me an idea." He says, reaching up to move his hand down her body. Cupping her breasts for a few seconds before he moves down to her waist. "Come here." He says softly. She leans over him as he leans up. Kissing her softly, they nibble on each others lips before she sighs softly. Lying down, she deepens the kiss as he reaches up and wraps his arms around her waist, holding her tightly. He pulls away after several seconds. Looking up he says. "I love the way you feel in my arms. I don't think I've ever told you that."
"How do I feel?"
"Like you fit and you were made for me."
"You were made for me too." She says, nibbling on his chin as he smiles.
He leans up, catching her mouth, he kisses her again. He moves away, moving down her neck to her ear a few moments later. Closing her eyes, she gives herself over to him and he knows it immediately. Reaching up, he unclasps her bra. She feels her breast fall free as he brushes the straps down her arms. Sitting up, she lets her bra fall to his chest as he watches her, slowly moving his tongue over his dry lips and she shivers slightly.
Reaching up, he holds her breasts, cupping them in each of his hands. He holds them for several seconds, looking up and watching her face. She looks down, waiting for him to move. When he doesn't, she looks down into his, her eyes begging him to continue. He moves his thumbs, playing with her nipples while she sucks in a deep breath holding it. She starts to close her eyes and he stops and she looks up. After a few seconds, he releases one of her breasts, wrapping his arm around her waist, he gently pushes on her back until she realizes what he wants and she leans over him.
Closing his mouth around her nipple he continues to caress her with his hand while he plays with her nipple with his mouth. The double stimulation wreaks havoc on her body, closing her eyes, she moans softly as she clings to the comforter beneath him. Her reaction sends rippling surges of desire rushing through him. Releasing her breast, he looks up as she looks down. Reading enormous desire in her eyes, he leans up, kissing her before he whispers. "I know."
"You're driving me crazy." She whispers, struggling to control her breathing.
"Good." He says, smiling as he kisses the side of her neck as she reaches for her waists. The feel of his hand at her waist feels heavy and hot at the same time. She wants him to touch her but she's not sure if she'll be able to hold on if he does. He senses the struggle inside her. "Go wild if you want to." He whispers, moving his hand down over her hips.
"Richard." She groans, clinching the comforter, fighting to hold onto her control.
He quickly realizes that she's not going to give in. "Alright." He whispers. Moving his hand around, he slips his hand under her panties, reaching for her.
He cups her first, giving her time to register what he's doing before he slips his fingers between her thighs. "Oh dear…." She gasps for breath and never finishes his statement as he moves his fingers over her desire. Her desire clings to his fingers making it easier for him to love her. "Richard!" She moans, feeling her desire for him intensify and he feels it too.
Taking his other hand, he reaches for one of hers, laying it on his stomach, he looks up as she looks down. She lies down beside him, staying close enough that he can continue what he's doing. She moves her hand down. Slipping under his boxers, she reaches for him, wrapping her hand around his engorged desire. She squeezes him "Cassie!" He groans.
Leaning up, he kisses her. Pulling his hand away, he reaches for his boxers as he lifts his hips, pushing them down. She lays there watching him. Kicking his boxers off, he turns to her. Catching her gaze, they both read desperation in the other eyes. He reaches for her panties as she lifts her hips. Pulling them down, she kicks them off as he moves over her, kissing her as she opens her body to his. Both of them suck in a deep breath as he slips inside her. She reaches for him, pulling him to her and closing her eyes. "You need this, don't you?" He whispers, slowly pulling away from her.
"Yes." She moans, closing her eyes, reaching for him.
He surges back inside, pushing deeps, caressing her "Cassie, darling." He groans.
Everything fades away. They are completely focused on each other as his tempo picks up and she moves with him. He surges deep over and over, driving their desire higher and higher with each thrust. He feels her body trembling beneath him. Looking down, he knows that she fighting to hold onto the passion rushing through her. He leans down, kissing her. He continues pushing them higher.
She's barely aware of reality. She focuses completely on him and how he's making her feel. The desire is sharp almost painful. With each thrust of his hips she answers him, which one would be the first to give in, neither one knew until she senses him slowing down. "Please, no." She whispers, pulling him to her, trying to force him to continue.
"Go on, let go." He whispers, kissing her softly as he surges into her.
"Richard!" She screams, staggering waves of her release rushes over her, squeezing him with each one.
He feels her body tightening around his, milking him as her release rolls over him. He continues to thrust again and again, drawing out her release until he can't hold on anymore. He thrust once and a rolling surge of desire crashes against his soul, burning through him and flooding her body with his release. "Cassie!" He groans.
He holds still as his release surges through them. Slowly he focuses on her and the soft fluttering waves of her second release. He hadn't even realized she had climaxed again until his release eases up and he's able to concentrate on her. He looks down and smiles, watching the dream look of satisfaction overcome her. He slowly pulls away, collapsing beside her as he sucks in a deep breath.
She turns to look at him "I think you're back is just fine."
"Everything is just fine." He replies, looking at her.
They lay there for several moments until he lifts his arm and she moves over to him, Laying her head on his chest, he puts and arm around her as she lays a leg across his and her arm across his waist.
Jeffrey is in the living room when Sam walks in. "When he gets here, come by the loft." Jeffrey says into the phone as Sam sits down beside him. "I promise, nothing will happen, but I want to talk to both of you." "And I meant what I said." "Okay, we'll see you then." Jeffrey says, hanging up the phone.
"Who was that?" Sam asks, leaning over to kiss him.
"That was Ava. Richard said that William is coming in tonight and I want her to bring him over…."
"Jeffrey…."
"Would you please have a little faith in me? I told her that I wouldn't stand in their way, and I won't. In fact, I want to offer them something that will make their life together a little bit easier."
"Okay, what do you have planned?"
"Well, we're moving into the house, right."
"Yes."
"And she and William are looking for a place for themselves, right."
"Yes."
"Well I thought that I could let them rent the loft, or buy if they wanted."
"And this isn't a way for to possibly keep tabs on them."
"No, I only want to help them. Look Ava's got a lot going on right now, as will William when he gets here. It's hard enough looking for a place to live when you know the area and what you're looking for and what the other person wants. They're starting their life together, even if it didn't start in a conventual way they still deserve the best start. We had a good start."
"Okay, if it's okay with you then I don't have a problem with you offering the loft to them. It's your loft anyway."
"But you're my wife." Jeffrey says, leaning over to kiss her.
"I like hearing that." She says, when he sits back.
"So, how did it go with the party?"
"Great, we all had fun and I learned some stuff about Richard and Cassie's first wedding and that it almost didn't happen."
"Cassie told you about Edmund and the video tape and about Reva."
"No, she told me about Blake and the herbal nerve pills that she gave Cassie to calm her down before the wedding. What video tape did Edmund have of Cassie?"
"It was a video tape of Cassie's past. Edmund tried to use it to discredit her in the eyes of the people and he almost succeeded. But Cassie spoke to the people from her heart and the understood and forgave her."
"What was on the video tape?"
"Umm, I can't really say. Richard never told me what it was and I didn't ask him or Cassie. I only know that Cassie made some rather poor choices when she had no other choice and Edmund tried to use it to discredit her."
"Okay, back to Ava and William, can I make a suggestion?"
"Sure."
"If you're going to offer the loft to them, I suggest you make this more than a one bedroom loft and more than one bathroom too."
"You think I should add another bedroom and bathroom."
"Yes, it's rather inconvenient to run downstairs to the bathroom in the middle of the night especially right now and after a while the baby will need its own room."
"So where do you think I should do this?"
"Umm well, part of the closet could be turned into a master bathroom and then that section you have over there for your music stuff you could move that stuff out and make that a nursery and later it could be a kid's room."
"You've thought a lot about this."
"Well, if you hadn't've bought the house for us, we would have need to find room for a nursery and it's rather inconvenient to run downstairs when I need to go to the bathroom."
"So, should I start on these projects now?"
"Not for us, no. but for Ava and William it might be helpful for them."
"I see what you're saying."
"And while you're building the nursery and bathroom, Ava could help you decorate it."
"She's going to be busy with jobs for Lewis."
"I'm sure she'll take time to do this."
"You've got this all planned out, don't you."
"No, not everything, did you eat while I was gone?"
"Yes and I was a good boy. I stayed on the couch, watched TV and only got up to get something to eat or drink or to go to the bathroom." He says, sounding like a little boy.
"You don't have to patronize me."
"I'm not, I really didn't get up unless I needed something from the kitchen or to go to the bathroom, and besides you were gone that long."
"Alright, so what are we going to do until Ava and William get here?"
"Well, I told her about the rehearsal dinner, so she told me that she would bring William by after that."
"Is she going to be at the rehearsal dinner?"
"I don't know. I didn't think to ask her, but since William's part of the wedding party she'll probably be with him."
"Alright, then we have a few hours to kill before the rehearsal dinner."
"So, how do you want to spend them?" He asks, slowly moving his hand up her arm while watching her.
"We're not doing that again until Dr. Stevens clears you."
"I'm much stronger now. My ribs…."
"…are still healing, so we'll wait till you're released."
"Alright." He says, sighing softly. "We can lay down a take a nap."
"Jeffrey!"
"To sleep, that's all, I swear." He says, holding up three fingers. She reaches over to pull his hand down as he leans over to kiss her. "I'll follow you upstairs, Mrs. O'Neill." He says, getting up with her following him.
Richard lies beside Cassie, playing with her hair. "You know I think we're turning into rabbits." Cassie says, moving her hand over his stomach.
"Why do you say that?"
"We've made love twice today. What are we going to do in the next couple weeks? We'll be on our honeymoon?"
"Hopefully, we'll do a whole lot more than what we've been doing." Richard says, turning his head to kiss her forehead. "Did you see James while you were at the Beacon this morning?"
"Yes, I ran into him having breakfast with Olivia."
"There's nothing wrong with that, they are working on the Europe deal."
"Yes, they are."
"But?"
"But I think they've become more than business partners. In fact I know they have."
"How do you know that?"
"James as much as admitted it to me this morning."
"He told you he was sleeping with her?"
"No, not in so many words, it was his tone and demeanor that told me that."
"What did you say?"
"I warned him about Olivia and told him to be careful." Cassie says, slowly drawing a heart on his chest."
"Something else happened." Richard says. "Did Olivia…?"
"No, Olivia went to check on something while we were talking about the two of them. I almost told him about the baby."
"You did. I thought you didn't want him to know until after we were married."
"I did, I do. But we were talking and it almost slipped out." Richard doesn't say anything and after a few moments she looks up at him. "Are you mad?"
"Mad, why would I be mad? You decided that you didn't want to tell your father right away. If you tell him before we're married then I'll support you, but either way I'm marrying you tomorrow." He replies, turning to kiss her forehead.
She kisses the center of his chest and then settles back against him and they lay there until Richard looks down and realizes that she's fallen asleep. He continues to lay there until it's close to the time for the boys to come home. Getting up, he gets dressed before he pulls the throw up and lays it over Cassie.
Ten minutes later, the boys are home. Richard is in the kitchen when they walk in. "Daddy." Will says, dropping his book bag on the floor by the door and running over to him. Richard bends down to catch him. "Why are you home?"
"He's home because he and Mom are getting married tomorrow, silly." RJ says, going over to the refrigerator.
"Yes, I am. And RJ, don't call your brother silly."
"Yes Sir. Where's Mom."
"She's sleeping. Will go put you book bag away."
"Yes sir."
"Do you guys want a snack?"
"We're starved." RJ says, sitting down at the table.
Richard goes over to the cupboard and gets the crackers, peanut butter and syrup. He had seen Cassie make this for them before although he had never tried it. Mixing the peanut butter and syrup together, he makes them some crackers and peanut butter. He gives it to them before getting them each a glass of milk as Will comes back from putting his book bag away. He climbs up to the table and gets one of the crackers as Richard brings them the milk. "Daddy?" He asks.
"Yes, Will." He says, turning to him.
"Are we going to stay with Aunt Reva after the wedding?"
"Umm, no. Ms. Chitwood is coming to stay with you."
"And you will come back, right?" RJ asks, looking at Richard.
Of course, we'll come back." Richard says, walking over to them. "We won't be gone long and we're not going far."
"You didn't go very far before either." RJ says, looking at him.
"And I promised you that I wouldn't leave you, your brother or your mother again. I will keep my promise RJ." Richard says, reaching for him.
"Okay." He replies, as Cassie comes in.
"Mommy!" Will says, getting down from the table and running to her.
"Hi, baby." She says, hugging him to her. "Did you have a good day at school?"
"Yes ma'am, Peter got in really bad trouble."
"You weren't involved with it."
"No, he doesn't play with me anymore because I hit him."
"What did he do?"
"He called the teacher a really bad name. Ms. Wilson called his mom and everything. Daddy since you're not going to be here this weekend, can I have my game boy back? I promise I won't hit RJ ever again." Will asks, looking at Richard.
"We'll see. Right now, you and your brother have to change clothes. You've got chores to do."
"Chores?" RJ asks.
"Yes, you've got to go out to the barn and feed and water Lady Tammy and you have to do that everyday, twice a day." Richard says. "So go on, change and I'll go out there and help you."
The boys leave the room as Cassie turns to him. "Are you going to tell him about Blue?"
"Yes."
"I want to come with you."
"Okay. Did you hear what RJ asked me?"
"I heard some of it."
"He asked me if I was coming back after the honeymoon."
"He'll learn eventually to trust you Richard, I promise he will."
"I know." Richard says, as the boys come back downstairs.
"Alright, let's go." Richard says, getting up from the table, followed by Cassie.
They leave the house, walking across the yard to the barn. Richard opens the door for them and they walk in.
"Don't touch the wedding stuff?" Cassie says as they walk down the hallway between the stalls to the tack room.
Richard opens the tack door and then steps back. "Boys, I want you to do exactly what you did a few days ago. She needs feed, it's over there and RJ you get the hose and take it over to give her fresh water."
"Yes sir." He replies, going to get the hose and Will goes over the feed bin and Richard lifts the lid. Will reaches in and gets the feed while Richard holds the lid.
When he's finished, he closes the lid and follows Cassie and Will out of the room, closing the door. "Maybe we should get something that would be easier to work with." Cassie says, walking behind Richard.
"I was thinking the same thing. Otherwise one of us will have to be here with them when they do this, and you may not feel like it."
Once Lady Tammy is fed and watered, the boys leave her stall. "Will, could you go play in the yard while we talk to RJ?" Cassie asks.
He looks at his mom and then Richard before he turns to leave. When he's gone, RJ asks. "Am I in trouble?"
"No, but we have something special to show you." Cassie says, taking RJ's hand.
They follow Richard to another part of the barn. When they walk around the corner, RJ notices there's another horse in one of the stalls but he doesn't recognize it. When they stop at the stall, Richard opens the stall as he asks. "It's another horse, why didn't you want Will to see this?"
"This is a special horse. He's special to you." Richard says, stepping back.
"Special to me, I don't understand." RJ says, looking at him.
"You remember Hart?" Cassie asks.
"Yes, he was my bio… real father. You were going to marry him before we moved to San Cristobel."
"And you remember what happened to him?" Cassie asks, kneeling in front of RJ.
"Yes, he was killed when I was born."
"That's right, and when you were a baby this horse used to live here. He was Hart's horse."
RJ looks at the horse and then back to Cassie. "What happened to him? Where did he go?"
"Before I married Richard, I got into some trouble financially and I couldn't pay for him anymore, so I had to sell him. I didn't want to but I had to take care of you and Tammy and Blue's a great horse. I knew that he would help us so I had Sam take him up to the auction barn and sell him." Cassie says, brushing RJ's hair back from his face.
He immediately shakes his head and the hair falls back into place. "If you sold him, how did you get him back?" RJ asks, looking at Cassie.
"I found him again and I bought him." Richard says.
"You found him and bought him, why?"
"Because I knew that it hurt your mother a lot to sell him and I wanted you to have something that was your biological fathers."
"But I have the farm, it's mine, Mom said."
"Yes it is, the farm will belong to you one day, but I wanted you to have more."
"What's his name? Does he have a name?"
"Yes, it's Blue." Cassie says, as RJ walks over to the horse slowly
He tentatively holds out his hand and Blue lowers his head, nuzzling it. He reaches up and rubs his nose like he had seen Richard do with Lady Tammy. "Is he mine?" RJ asks, looking at Richard and Cassie.
"Yes, he's yours." Richard says.
"This is why you sent Will to play." RJ says, turning back to the horse. He continues to stroke his nose. Richard and Cassie stand there watching him. RJ turns to them. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Richard says, walking over to him and hugging him.
"Can I ride him?" RJ asks, looking at Richard.
"Not tonight, we've got too much to do." Cassie says.
"Okay."
"And we need to get ready. Everyone will be here soon for the rehearsal." Richard says.
"Yes Sir." RJ says, slowly backing away from Blue. "I'll be back later, Blue." He whispers, rubbing the horses nose as it nuzzles his hand. They leave the barn together.